Section 7.281. Elevator cars

(a) The cars of new power-driven freight elevators shall have all sides not used as a means of ingress or egress solidly enclosed. Grille, perforated or solid metal may be used from a point 6 feet above the car floor to the underside of the car top. The tops of freight elevator cars shall be provided with a cover, solid or of grillework, capable of sustaining a concentrated load of 150 pounds at any point. If wire mesh is used it shall not be less than No. 10 standard steel wire gauge, 0.135 inch in diameter, and the mesh shall be such that a ball 1 1/2 inches in diameter will not pass. Such protecting tops or covers shall be set back not more than 6 inches from the landing threshold and be hinged to a depth of not less than 18 inches on the landing sides. Car slings, frames and girdles on all elevators installed after January 1, 1943, shall be constructed of steel. Elevators in existing fire-resistive shaftways are not required to have car tops. Such tops are also not required in connection with elevators when all gates above the bottom story have their underclearances eliminated and shaftway enclosures extend to the ceiling.

(b) When there is more than one opening to a car, all openings, except the one nearest the operator, shall be provided with a car gate of the horizontal collapsible type or of the semiautomatic vertical-raising type, except on existing one-story elevators when the clearance between the car and the shaftway is not greater than 2 inches and when the shaftway forms a smooth surface without projections throughout the travel of the car. When the horizontal collapsible type of gate is used, the construction shall be such that a 4 1/2 inch ball will not pass when the gate is fully extended, and the upright channels shall not be more than 18 inches apart.

(c) If gates of the horizontal collapsible type are used in installations provided with electric brakes they shall all be equipped with an electrical or mechanical device so constructed and installed that the car is held immovable when the gates are in an open position. If gates of the vertical-raising type are used, they shall be extended to the car floor and an electric contact shall be provided where practicable. This requirement does not apply to existing installations where automatic hatch covers are permitted.

(d) Car gates which are not provided with the locking devices required in subsection (c) shall be equipped with latches so arranged that the gates cannot be opened from the outside of the shaftway. Car gates shall have a minimum height of 5 feet, 6 inches.

Notation

Cross References

This section cited in 34 Pa. Code § 7.291 (relating to general) and 34 Pa. Code § 7.295 (relating to hydraulic freight elevators); and 34 Pa. Code § 7.298 (relating to gravity elevators).